1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle wheel suspension device which is very resistant to distortion and comprises two arms constituting an oscillating fork which oscillates relative to the body of the vehicle about an oscillation axis at the base of the fork, which fork carries a wheel axle or wheel pivot support at the free end of its arms.
In the following description, in order to avoid a lengthy explanation, the invention is illustrated with reference to the suspension of a motor cycle rear wheel. However, only minor modifications within the competence of the expert would be necessary to enable the arrangements described to be applied, as specified, to vehicles other than motor cycles or else to front wheels, in the latter case by simply substituting a wheel pivot support for the hub described.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The majority of swing arms for motor cycle rear wheel suspensions consist of forks made from forgings, sections, tubular parts, or box-shaped parts. Swing arms of these types are not suitable for high-performance machines. Machines of this kind in fact require the most perfect possible rigidity of connection between the axis of rotation of the rear wheel and the pivot axis of the swing arm. Because of their elasticity, known devices for mounting motor cycle rear wheels are not entirely free from twisting, which gives rise to dangerous stresses through resonance caused by irregularities of the track or road or the intrinsic action of the transmission. Also, the forked part, no matter how strong, will always have certain torsional elasticity.
A main object of the invention is to provide a very rigid swing arm which is free from the shortcomings indicated above, and is capable of being used either for a rear wheel suspension or for a pivot suspension for a steered vehicle wheel.
Another object of the invention is to provide a suspension which does not have the shortcomings indicated above, but which makes it possible to use a single suspension assembly and to locate that assembly in a position where there is usually an unused space.